Startup Ideas from My First Million Podcast 💵 Episode #105

Aug 31, 2020

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First part of the podcast features Avlok Kohli of Angel List

13:15 A product that gives feedback on business meetings

Meetings are expensive both in time and money: They take away everyone’s time and brain bandwidth
They need to be as efficient as possible
What is needed is a feedback loop on the meeting quality
You can use this to create a build an information center around this
Maybe this could be built on Zoom
Shaan has this idea as well
All you need is 10% or 20% effectiveness improvement to give significant value to businesses
17:20 talks about what kind of pitch you could use to get this company going
17:50 talks about the obstacles with this idea

13:50 Asynchronous meetings

Instead of a live meeting where everyone has to be there at the exact same time
For example a design review or product review can be done asynchronously where not everyone needs to be live
Avlok thinks there’s an opportunity to create a tool to do this
When you build something like this, by default, everything is locked
Now you have a repository of meetings and data

20:50 Avlok talks about a current startups he’s currently excited about

Roam Research: A note-taking tool for networked thought. As easy to use as a document. As powerful as a graph database. Roam helps you organize your research for the long haul. He replaced the Apple Notes app with this

27:40 A Rolling Fund

Shaan wanted to start raising money to invest in startups. After he moved to Silicon Valley he had friends who started 3 or 4 billion dollar companies and he wanted in on the action
He thought about starting a fund but you have to convince a large amount of people to give a large amount of money up front. This takes time and effort and it may not work. You can’t raise partial amount of the fund, if you don’t raise it all you don’t get any.
He also thought about starting a syndicate. Shaan started one and got a bunch of people to say they will back it, but once you get an opportunity in your sights, you have to go knock on all their doors all over again. He didn’t want to re-raise money for every single deal
Instead, he started something called a rolling fund that can start small and get bigger over time
Rolling funds have many advantages: 1) you don’t have to raise all the money upfront. It can start small and get bigger over time. It’s viable even while it’s small. 2) You don’t have to re-beg for money every time like a syndicate because you already have money in the bank. 3) You can publicly talk about the fund and solicit to get people to invest. Shaan has an audience on the podcast that he could get funding from.
Drawback is that it’s a new structure. When you talk to LPs you’ll have to give them more explanation what a rolling fund is
Shaan does not like the fee structure. There’s a fee every quarter and a minimum fee.

1:24:35 Local monopolies

How do you create a company that has outsized returns that is small?
The best BBQ in Topeka, Kansas could be a local monopoly. It’s expensive and unattractive for a competitor to set up shop here. You are established, have the best product in a constrained area
What are local monopolies that can command premium prices?
Basic services
Online reputation of these services
The local newspaper is a great example. Make it an online newsletter. Only need a few writers. Aquire a bunch of users through paid search or Facebook traffic using local targeting
Can you be a Rupert Murdoch by owning the most popular newsletter in all the little towns?
Kinda like what Next Door has done. They want to take on Facebook but came at it from a local method.
Managed Service Provider (MSP) is an outsourced IT department for your companies computers, phones and network. It’s a huge industry already. Has recurring revenue.

1:37:10 SPACs

SPAC is a credible person or team that knows how to acquire businesses. You raise money and give the first investor incentives. Then you find a company to buy and becomes the public company. Like Virgin Galactic went public on a SPAC. SPAC struck a deal with them and formed Virgin Galactic

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